TV analysts agree that Marco Andretti has a good shot at Indy on Sunday

And, as usual, I got in a question about the chances of Lehigh Valley native Marco Andretti at the Brickyard, a place where he nearly won in his first attempt in 2006 and has had two other strong finishes -- third in both 2008 when I was actually there covering the race and again in 2010.

Since this is an even year, Marco seems destined to run strong again, and I suggested that him winning would not only be good for him, his father's racing team and the Andretti legacy, but it would be good as well for the sport

"No. 1, as I mentioned previously, everybody believes that Andretti Autosports has excellent cars here, not only just to be able to go fast, but also to be able to run in traffic," Goodyear said. "And the confidence of the team, the change in the team from a year ago, it just seems like they're all working well together and sharing information, from what they tell me, and moving forward.

"They have obviously been very competitive. I think James Hinchcliffe joining on there has really raised the level of their game. Obviously a lot changes within the team from last year, moving people around, different people on cars and engineers, so they've changed a lot. Michael is continuously doing that.

"But the comment that I thought was very interesting in the last couple of days from Marco when he was asked a question in the press room, maybe not surprised with his answer, but they asked him, What's your shot here? He said, I honestly feel this is my best shot to win the Indianapolis 500 because I have some experience here, some heartache, but he said just the way the team is running and firing on all cylinders. I think he's got a great shot at it."

Cheever also chimed in, saying: "I could not agree more that [Marco winning] would do a lot for his career and for the series in general. But if you go through the list of all the American drivers that are competing in the Indianapolis 500 this year, I cannot remember a time when you had as many as you have now that have a genuine opportunity to be in that leading pack for that last restart.

"Scott is 100% right. I would say the worst place to be in that leading pack on that last restart is the lead guy because you will have a pack of cars behind you, where if you so much as make a mistake by half a foot, five cars could pass you down two straightaways. So it's going to be really difficult.

"I think with so many drivers having that strong of a car underneath them, if they get to that last pit stop, it literally could be anybody's race."

In an interview conducted last week, Marco said that he was looking for a top-10 finish in qualifying, something he earned: "I'll just be happy if I'm in the top 10. If I could start in the top 10, I'd be pleased. From there we can definitely win the race."